


Appreciation

by rathernotmyname



Series: Fictober! 2020 [17]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cirque du Soleil, But Not For Long!, Fictober! Day 17, Gen, Joe does the aerial artistery, Joe is Pining, M/M, Oh God Yes, Pre-Relationship, Rami is a trampoline artist, and they're damn good at it, rami is oblivious, this is just happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:47:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28052664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rathernotmyname/pseuds/rathernotmyname
Summary: Joe and Rami share some quality time at dinner. (Joe wants some love - Rami wants a steak.)Or:A short missing scene of the bigger Cirque!AU I'm writing right now.
Relationships: Rami Malek & Joe Mazzello
Series: Fictober! 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050200
Kudos: 2





	Appreciation

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note:  
> I DO NOT CONSENT TO MY WORK BEING HOSTED OR REPOSTED ON ANY UNOFFICIAL APPS OR WEBSITES OTHER THAN ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN WITHOUT MY APPROVAL, PARTICULARLY APPS WITH AD REVENUE AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES.

Joe sees not much more than a blur of movement when he enters the main tent, loud music booming out of the speakers all around him, accompanied by the well-known “boop, tick-tick-tick” that helps the artists keep the beat. 

The back of his mind registers that the band seems to be on coffee break right now, only the violinist is present and fiddles the shit out of his instrument.

The giant net is spanned in all of its glory, almost invisible in the low, blueish light. A mat is placed beneath it to help the daredevils training on it hit the center to avoid being catapulted somewhere into the audience.

The five men on the net have arrived at the grand finale, only feigning some of the big jumps as they are not at full power. 

Still, seeing Arnaud and then Rami fly almost 13 feet up into the air is disconcerting, to say the least.

The trampoline coach who’s name Joe can never quite remember is standing at the side, sometimes shouting directions or beats, but mostly grinning proudly as his boys let out whoops of excitement.

The last note rings out, the violinist breaks a string, and Rami and his teammates lie in the net like stranded fish, gasping and sweaty, but very satisfied with their day’s work.

When Joe starts to clap in admiration, Rami’s head whips up and he’s on his feet in seconds, fighting his way out of the acronet on rubbery legs.

“I missed my favorite part,” Joe complains when Rami climbs down the rope ladder leading onto his ‘stage’. 

“Really? I’m sorry to hear that. Which one is it?”

“The one where you wear the beards and wigs.”

Rami tips his head back and laughs, chest heaving underneath his wet t-shirt. It’s a white t-shirt, gone almost transparent. Joe can’t deny that he enjoys gawking at the lean muscles that are visible underneath it.

“Of course that would be your favorite part, you sucker.” 

Rami wipes his face with the rim of his shirt, exposing the muscles that Joe had ogled in secret just a moment ago. Now there’s nothing secret about it anymore, and the look that Rami’s collegue Karl throws him tells him just how obvious he is about it.

Apparently not obvious enough for Rami to notice, though. He stretches and scrunches up his face as his back pops, and then he leads Joe to the canteen wagon (which is actually a trailer, but they are old-fashioned regarding names around here). 

“I need a steak,” Rami groans as the meal of the day is shoveled onto his plate; fried sweet potatoes, salad and ‘chili sin carne’, as the chef likes to call it. “But this looks lovely, thank you. Yum.”

Joe gets his own portion, choosing a little less salad and more fries because if he’s jealous of one thing, it’s Rami’s stamina regarding dieting. He can’t survive without some more carbs in the afternoon, okay? It all goes into his arms, anyway. 

“How’s that figure coming along?” Joe asks because he’ll never bother to learn the three million words for the flips and somersaults that are part of Rami’s routine.

“So-so,” Rami replies, wiggling his hand to empathize it. “I still don’t land the right way, always meet the net face-first. Until we figure out how to propell me a little higher so that I have more time, or,” he stops to take a sip of water, “or maybe I should start backwards instead of forwards…”

Joe nods, folding his hands beneath his chin and leaving his meal be for the moment.

“Sounds like you’re not completely lost at what to do, at least.”

Rami smiles. “Yeah, it’s definitely a start, if nothing else comes of it. I still have time to try something completely new, of course, but I’m kinda hesitant. I spend a lot of time with that fucker, it’d feel like a wasted effort. Anyway, did the new silk arrive yet?”

Joe launches in a passionate and affectionate rant over said new silk (“I’ll use it for the show, I swear to God. I have never felt so good while slowly strangulating myself in front of an audience.” “Joe.” “I’m serious!”) and they end up almost missing the last meeting of the day, still fully engaged in a heated discussion about whether Zumba or Contemporary is a better warm-up.

As they separate to go to their respective cool-down classes, Joe holds Rami a little tighter than usual when they hug goodbye for the night. 

“No hard feelings, I love Zumba,” Rami quips, but he melts into Joe’s embrace, quietly admiring the arms that could probably lift three Ramis at once.

“I’m looking forward to your presentation of the fancy stuff,” he adds, lifting his head from where he rested it on Joe’s shoulder to look at him, a challenging glint in his eyes. “It’s delightful to see you two trying to out-do each other. And your routine is fucking beautiful.”

“Well, we all know that I’m better,” Joe huffs, but then cackles at Rami’s dry “Of course”. 

“I’ll be there to see you succeed that asshole of a flip. Even if you do happen to land on your face, it’s gonna be nothing less than magical.”

Rami smiles, mouth curling in that particular way that makes Joe’s heart race. 

“Thanks. I appreciate that,” he says. Then they squeeze each other a little longer and finally go their separate ways.

**Author's Note:**

> As I've mentioned in the summary, it's official now! I am working on this AU right now, but I won't get around to posting it until sometime next year. But you heard it here first! >:D


End file.
